But I call to God, and the LORD will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.
Psalm 55:16-17
Last week I took a well-needed vacation.
While I was gone, I didn't check and answer my emails.
And they really added up!
As of last night, there were 428 of them!
Granted, a lot of them are most likely junk mail, but there are probably a few in that 428 that were emails from some of you.
And since I was unavailable last week, I didn't get

Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Psalm 143:7-8
In Psalm 143, David cries out for help from the Lord.
I don't know all the details behind his cry for help, but it's obvious he feels distressed.
I know that feeling.
No, I don't have enemies trying to kill me like David did,

Pray without ceasing.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Instead of writing something lengthy for us to ponder today, I'm encouraging all of us (me included!) to pray.
Start by using the time it would normally take you to read one of these ponderings (I don't know, maybe 3-5 minutes?) to pray.
And then let's find several times today to connect with the God who gave his Son for us so that we could connect with him forever.

In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. And the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart." Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, "Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
James 5:16
Have you ever thought about how strange these two sentences sound when read together?
Confess your sins to each other AND the prayer of a righteous person has great power.
But isn't it true that sin is unrighteousness? So if I confess my sins to you, doesn't that prove that I am unrighteous? And if I am unrighteous, then

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Psalm 139:23-24
The "check engine" light in my van has been on for a few days now. Sometimes that light comes on because of something really minor (like I didn't secure the gas cap tightly enough the last time I bought gas). Sometimes that light comes on because of something a little more serious.
No matter why the "check engine" light is on, I